INTRODUCTION

The lessons and ramifications of the Sinai event, in which Israel received the Ten Statements from Heaven (erroneously called “the Ten Commandments), are staggering for today’s world . First and foremost is the very concept of man being answerable to Divine commands. Then there is the concept of a covenant between the Creator and the created in which both sides are limited by the conditions of the pact. But few thinkers look at the wider context of what is arguably the most important event in history: that it occurred in the aftermath of the Ten Plagues, which brought the most powerful and advanced nation on earth, the world’s only superpower at the time, to its knees.

When one compares the bad political decisions that preceded Egypt’s demise and those that threaten today’s global society, it becomes clear that, however technology, population explosion, and globalism have transformed our world, the fundamental aspects of human behavior have changed little. If the Ten Statements are somehow connected to the Ten Plagues, it behooves us to explore that context to the fullest. The lessons to be gleaned about how HaShem relates to man are as priceless as they are relevant.

On the surface, the Ten seem to have little in common: A few of the 13 Principles of Faith (HaShem‘s Existence. The obligation to worship Him exclusively, the prophecy of Moshe). Selected, fundamental social laws prohibiting jealousy and legislating parental honor. Even one ritual, the commandment to keep Shabboth (the Sabbath Day). What do these select Statements all have in common? What is their purpose? Clearly they have a symbolic importance that transcends halakhah. (1)

I suggest that they can only be fully understood from the perspective of those who actually heard them and “saw the sounds” in person: the context of the entire Redemption experience. For them, the Statements at Sinai were the climactic aftermath of the Ten “Statements” that had just laid waste to Egypt, changing their lives forever.

Remember that, except for the tribe of Levi, who had preserved the traditions of the patriarchs, the newly-freed Hebrews (and how much more so the mixed multitude of Egyptians who had joined them) were ignorant of the most basic Torah concepts. So HaShem condensed His vast Torah (which would then continue to be written and taught throughout the sojourn in the desert) into a few statements that not only represented the entire Law, but served to underscore certain foundational principles. Accordingly, accepting the Ten was an acceptance of all 613.

Each Statement at Sinai came to replace corrupt, godless tenets of Egyptian culture; to give them a new world outlook – the foundation of a Torah lifestyle with Torah values. Such a revolution of thought could only succeed after an initial, preparatory step. For no matter how awesome the Sinai experience would be, replacing the old worldview of a nation, first required the uprooting the old, idolatrous worldview, so that new values could be planted. The Plagues that devastated Egypt had this educational function: to neutralize the pagan beliefs and values of Egyptian society that could block the way for Hebrews and gentiles to fully accept HaShem’s Law.

To understand how, consider that every individual who stood at Sinai had not only witnessed the Ten Plagues in terror and awe, but likely suffered through at least two of them personally. One out of every three or four of the new nation were non-Hebrews who had survived them all, losing family members, friends, and property. We can assume that the precise order and details of these events were well ingrained in everyone’s memory. Accordingly, so long as the connections between them are clear enough, the Ten Plagues, plague by plague, could effectively serve to prepare the nation and the world for the Ten Statements, statement by statement.

Let us now consider their respective orders, listing them side by side:

The Ten Plagues

The Ten Statements

1

BLOOD

I am HaShem your God, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery.

2

FROGS

Do not have any other gods before Me….

3

LICE

Do not take the Name of HaShem your God in vain.

4

WILD CREATURES

Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. You can work during the six weekdays… But Saturday is the Shabboth to HaShem your God.

5

EPIDEMIC

Honor your father and mother. You will then live long on the land that HaShem your God is giving you.

6

BOILS

Do not commit murder.

7

HAIL

Do not commit adultery.

8

LOCUSTS

Do not steal.

9

DARKNESS

Do not testify as a false witness against your neighbor.

10

DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN

Do not be envious of your neighbor’s house. Do not be envious your neighbor’s wife… or anything else that is your neighbor’s.

There may seem to be little or no connection between them at first glance, but let’s look deeper.

Plague One, Statement One

BLOOD – I am HaShem your God, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery.

When HaShem smote the Egyptians with the first plague, it had to be a plague that would introduce, in the RaMBaM’s words, “the foundation of foundations”: the knowledge of HaShem’s existence. That was impossible as long as the river Nile, Egypt’s object of worship and source of all sustenance, remained fresh and life-giving. Living in a hot, desert land with little rainfall, the ancient Egyptians depended on the regular, annual flooding of the Nile. The river was therefore perceived as a power in and of itself and revered as the very source of life. When HaShem turned the River into blood, killing all the fish, it sent a powerful message to the pagan mind: some previously unknown Master Deity had just rendered their Nile god impotent and irrelevant.

With full respect for the the Midrash as to the contrary, Exodus 8:19 infers that only from the third Plague did HaShem set Israel apart from the Egyptians. Accordingly, Israel suffered from the Plague of Blood with the Egyptians. And fittingly so, being that the Israelites had regressed to idol worship in Egypt.

Plague Two, Statement Two

FROGS – Do not have any other gods before Me….

The first Plague carried the message of HaShem’s existence and sovereignty. However, it did not suggest that worshipping other created beings was ruled out. The second Plague came to drive home a further concept: You may not fear any other powers (literally “have any other gods”) before the Master Deity. Since HaShem brought all existence into being, everything exists before Him, in His Presence. Worshipping anything besides Him means serving that which HaShem created to exist before Him. It is the equivalent of standing before the mightiest human emperor sitting on his high throne, and then, outside of protocol, turning 45 degrees to piously kneel and lie prostrate flat on the floor before one of a series of small figurines on the decorative railing… Not a wise idea.

The worst aspect of idolatry is not that HaShem‘s honor is slighted. Even worse, since idols have no divine power except that imparted to it by the believer in his mind, it is the worship of a false fantasy; worship of the irrational self. On this nearly irreversible track away from logic and reason, people worship an extension of their imagination, however demonic it may someday become.

The next plague came to allude to how despicable this is to the Almighty. He would cause something ugly and repulsive to be “created” from the defeated Nile god, to emerge from the river, and invade all Egypt. In another context, this “Nile creation,” the frog, might have been honored by Egypt as a power to reckon with in and of itself–like the Nile god… But now it must have been clear to all that this creature “before the Nile” was merely an agent of punishment by an largely unrecognized Master Deity.

Again, notwithstanding the legend of rabbis as to the contrary, verse 8:19 infers that Israel suffered from the Plague of Frogs together with all Egypt. Again, this was only fair, as the Israelites were idol worshippers in the land of their slavery.

Plague Three, Statement Three

LICE – Do not take the Name of HaShem your God in vain.

In Moshe’s initial encounter with the Creator, he asked to know God’s Name. This seems strange, since the Midrash teaches that Moshe knew the Divine Name, using it to kill the Egyptian taskmaster. Even according to the simple understanding of the text, Moshe was a Levite, whose tribe faithfully preserved the holy traditions of the nation. He was not only aware of his Israelite identity in Egypt, but likely to have been a bearer of Levitical tradition. (2)Moshe surely knew the Name of the God of His people.

Notice that at Moshe’s first encounter with HaShem at the Burning Bush, the Torah does not (according to the simple understanding of text), describe HaShem revealing the essence of His most sacred Name. This is only described much later in verses 6:2-3. Rather, HaShem replies to Moshe’s question, “I Shall Be What I Shall Be.” He then continues, bidding Moshe to speak to his people in the Name of “YHWH [expressing HaShem‘s eternity] the God of your forefathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yiṣḥaq, and the God of Ya`aqov.”

Indeed, according to halakhah, “Ehiyeh” (I Shall Be) is one of seven sacred names of HaShem that may not be erased. However, HaShem’s response may well have been a mild form of rebuke. Ancient magic and sorcery involved the use of various “holy names” in incantations to cast spells and manipulate supernatural powers. This practice is alive and well in India, as well as in pseudo-Kabbalah (3) Considering Moshe’ upbringing, his request for a sacred name could hint to that magical perspective of the pagan world, in which Moshe was raised and educated. (4) It is not inconceivable that at this initial encounter with the Almighty, Moshe expected that he was to perform HaShem‘s wonders by means of such a magical name.

HaShem‘s answer carries a simple, powerful message:

“I am what I forever will be. I am unique and totally sovereign. You cannot control or manipulate Me with any Name or magical formula. My Name(s) convey deep and holy wisdom, and are never meant to be misused as tools of magic.”

This was the next message that the Almighty wanted to give anyone with the heart to consider the deeper meaning of the unfolding events. The Master Deity who demands exclusive worship is not like any other deity Egypt had been worshipping; He is totally unique. His Name can only be uttered in the context that He dictates. It can only be pronounced according to His rules. Fittingly, the Third Statement –not to take the Lord’s Name in vain– was foreshadowed by the first Plague that the necromancerscouldn’t replicatewith their silly ‘divine’ names – lice. Even they, for the first time, were forced to say, “It is the finger of God!” (Ex. 8:15) They discovered that HaShem is utterly unique; His ability to create puts even our greatest minds and technology to shame.

Lice are the tiniest creatures able to be seen by the naked eye. Similarly, taking HaShem’s Name in vain –such as reciting an improper blessing– is considered to be the tiniest, most insignificant error. Yet it was regarded by the two Tannaic giants, Ribbi Yoḥanan and Resh Laqish, as equivalent to taking God’s Holy Name in vain (if it is a conscious, careless mistake). Taking His Name in vain, particularly when swearing a vain oath, is one of the gravest sins, of which the Torah warns in the Third Statment, “HaShem will not allow the one who takes His name in vain to go unpunished.” (Ex. 20:6) (It should be noted that today, ignorance of the Laws of Blessings is ubiquitous.)

Plague Four, Statement Four

WILD CREATURES – Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. You can work during the six weekdays… But Saturday is the Shabboth to HaShem your God.

In his Guide for the Perplexed, the RaMBaM explains the reasoning for the 4th Statement, the commandment to remember and guard the Shabboth:

“…no opinions retain their vitality except those which are confirmed, publicized, and by certain actions constantly revived among the people. Therefore we are told in the Law to honor this day, in order to confirm the principle of Creation which will spread in the world, when all peoples keep Shabboth on the same day.” (5)

In other words, the weekly day of rest was instituted in order to spread the fundamental principles of HaShem‘s existence, exclusivity, and uniqueness throughout the world.

Egyptian culture was rooted in a slave mentality (it isn’t for nothing that Egypt was literally called Beth `Avadim – the Home or Bastion of Slavery) that is not dissimilar to the one that characterizes the modern work world. One can imagine the following response from a non-Jewish manager of a sweatshop in a foreign country being asked to consider closing the factory on Shabboth:

“Are you nuts? How can you ask me to voluntarily do something to limit our productivity?! Why send our employees home for an entire day every seven days, losing 1/7 of our weekly profits, all for the religious concerns of a small minority? Our employees have vacation time, sick leave, and are not paid below minimum wage. Moreover, consistently setting aside an entire day each week from work, telephone, laundry, etc, besides being impractical, makes no rational sense. Next!”

What few secular people realize is that this attitude is no different, in principle, from that of ants, flies, beavers, birds – any industrious wild animal that cannot be tamed, and cannot voluntarily elect to cease its labors. Ribbi Neḥemiah understood the 4th plague, ‘arov, to be a swarm of flies. Ribbi Yehudah states that it denotes a mixture of wild animals. Another source states that it was a mixture of insects and snakes. All of these are wild, untamable creatures that cannot control their instinct to work. Moreover, they rely on nothing but their own strength and instinct. Godless human beings are no different. They claim, “my strength and the might of my arm made me this wealth.” No wonder that the “foundation of all foundations,” the awareness of HaShem‘s existence and a sense of obligation to serve Him, doesn’t easily take root in their hearts.

HaShem needed to prepare those who left Egypt for the Shabboth day, the day when the Jewish People demonstrate to the rest of the world man’s ability to transcend his animal instincts to labor, to produce, to horde; to rely totally on rash, instinctive judgment, rather than obey God’s higher call. He therefore sent wild creatures to invade Egypt, to punish them for their wild-animal approach to life.

The first three plagues corresponded to three laws that obligate gentiles as much as Jews. The fourth plague paved the way for Shabboth, which would obligate the Jewish people only. Accordingly and fittingly, it is the first plague in which HaShem distinguished the Hebrews, sparing their land from His wrath. Furthermore, although he changed his mind after the plague was over, it is the first plague that moved Pharaoh to recognize the Hebrews’ right and obligation to serve our God (Ex. 8:24):

And Pharaoh said: ‘I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to HaShem your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away; entreat [HaShem] for me.’

Indeed, although it would later be mimicked by Christianity and Islam, the Shabboth –on its original day from Adam’s creation– would become and remain the exclusive mode of Divine service of the Jewish People.

Plague Five, Statement Five

EPIDEMIC – Honor your father and mother. You will then live long on the land that HaShem your God is giving you.

The Fifth Statement given to the Hebrews was, “Honor your father and mother.” A consequence is given: “You will then live long on the land that HaShem your God is giving you.” Being that Torah wisdom and observance is ideally passed down from parents to children (not merely institutions to children!), honor of parents would be essential for the Hebrews to keep the Torah throughout the ages, preserving the national identity and national will required to maintain Israelite sovereignty on to the Land through thick and through thin.

To prepare the nation for the Fifth Statement, the Fifth Plague was an epidemic among Egypt’s livestock. In those days, livestock was the principle inheritance passed down from father to son. If HaShem was giving a message that parents should be honored, regardless of what is in their will, it is fitting that He would target their livestock, their wealth. It would have forced children to relate to fathers with no promise of an inheritance.

It is reasonable to believe that, in the crucible of Egyptian bondage, the Hebrews did honor their parents, given their strong sense of tribal identity. Fittingly, their land was spared again, while Egypt was punished again for Pharaoh’s stubbornness (suggesting that nations deserve their leaders) – this time with a plague that threatened to remove the Egyptians from their land.

Plague Six, Statement Six

BOILS – Do not commit murder.

The 6th Plague, the boils that appeared on the Egyptians’ skin, was, like all the Plagues, a direct punishment for Pharaoh’s obstinacy. However, it also sent a powerful message to anyone willing to consider the implications of what was happening:

As the nation was guilty of a sin involving the dead bodies of human beings, so were their own bodies smitten, pock-marked with dead skin.

As people imagine that such a sin can be covered up, so would HaShem advertise the message of their guilt all over the surface of their skin.

Befitting a crime involving total destruction and loss, so was the punishing Plague carried out through ash, furnace soot scattered in the wind.

Befitting a national crime in which Egypt had innocents were buried in the dust of the earth, so would the soot “settle like dust on all Egypt… when it falls on man or beast…”

The nation was being taken to task for the sin of murder.

The Midrash relates that Pharaoh had the blood of the firstborn Hebrew babies collected and publicly bathed his body in it during their springtime festival. Now his body would be “bathed” in painful boils. The ash Moshe threw into the air brings to mind a later holocaust of the Israelites over 3,000 years after the first systematic slaughter of the Hebrews in Egypt. Still within living memory, millions of our people were murdered, enslaved, and burned in furnaces; their bodies reduced to ash. “You shall not murder!” HaShem thundered at Mt. Sinai. It was a restatement of one of the Seven Laws given to Noaḥ, obligating all mankind. In regards to this crime, the Hebrews were innocent; their bodies were spared.

One might ask, why were the Egyptians not punished in kind, by being massacred (the Tenth Plague only targeted the firstborn)? The answer, to my understanding, is profound: HaShem‘s compassion is beyond our comprehension. Accordingly, it is a basic principle that the Torah was given to teach and lift mankind up; not to destroy us. This is well stated in RaMBaM’s Mishneh Torah:

“Here you learn that the laws of the Torah are not a force of vengeance in the world, but rather a source of compassion, kindness, and peace in the world.”(Laws of Shabboth 2:3)

Plague Seven, Statement Seven

HAIL – Do not commit adultery.

Many otherwise decent people today commit sexual crimes in the eyes of the Torah, whitewashing their actions as being a private affair – not anyone else’s business; certainly not an insult to God, who they believe “understands” them and couldn’t be terribly bothered. They still consider themselves “good people.” The Vilna Gaon understands sexual immorality to be a crime between man and himself. The RaMBaM clearly views sexual immorality as a direct crime against HaShem, and I believe that both views are profoundly important.

Sodom and `Amorah (Gomorrah) are the arch-example of sexual immorality until this day (hence the word “sodomy”). Yet many people are ignorant of the widespread promiscuity of ancient Egypt, attested to by the Midrash, and corroborated by the shameless pornographic artwork the Egyptians left behind on the walls of their tombs. One tradition that stands out among the rest, is that the Egyptian taskmaster killed by Moshe for beating a Hebrew slave was a shameless adulterer. It is when Moshe heard how he had entered the Hebrew man’s home at night, tied him up, and raped his wife before his eyes, that he struck him down, executing Noahide justice. (Sefer HaYashar, portion Shemoth)

Sodom and ‘Amorah were destroyed by fire (or lightning bolts) and brimstone (a reaction by God that seems to indicate He was a bit bothered). (6) This cataclysm only occurred a few hundred years before the Exodus; the memory of the event would have been strong and widespread.

It is therefore not surprising that the Egyptian plague that would pave the way for the Statement “Do not commit adultery” was a frightening storm of fiery hailstones; hail with thunder and lightening striking the ground, or perhaps a heavy shower of flaming meteorites. According the Midrash, it as a miraculous joining of fire and ice together – which ordinarily do not get along well together. This would represent the forbidden unions so rampant in Egypt. Once again, the innocent Hebrews were spared. The message must have given a jolt to anyone with the heart to ponder the meaning behind this catastrophe.

Plague Eight, Statement Eight

LOCUSTS – Do not steal.

There is a popular notion that being a “good person” is far more important than being “religious”. The truth is, however, that neither one perfectly represents that to which we are bidden to aspire: Arguably there is no Divinely-endorsed religion on this earth; only HaShem’s objective Will as He gave it to Moshe, as the prophets and sages of Israel received and passed it down. Accordingly, even religious Jews can be following customs that are commonly associated with Judaism, and be transgressing halakhah.

Likewise, “good” or “bad” are purely subjective terms. Use of such hazy terms outside of a Torah context is often an attempt to impose invented ideals and morals on others. There simply cannot be an absolute, universal standard of ethics that we could trust, but one known to be from HaShem Himself. Even if all mankind could somehow agree on an artificial standard, however “scientific”, it would quickly change over time (as popular concepts of right and wrong continually evolve and devolve), eventually falling into suspicion and contempt.

For example, without a belief in HaShem and a tradition on His definition of theft, an action considered at one time to be theft, would eventually be considered “lawful borrowing”, or “taking what is rightfully his”.

Even though it is not mentioned in the Bible, it is not a leap to conclude that a nation whose leader asked “Who is HaShem that I should obey Him” was not only idolatrous, but thieving as well. This may also be implied by HaShem’s command to the Hebrews that they drain Egypt of its wealth upon leaving. Perhaps the Egyptians’ forwardness in giving the Hebrews all they asked for was an admission of their guilt.

Accordingly, Egypt was punished by an Eighth Plague of locusts, one of the most vicious thieves of the natural world. Months of grueling field labor can be obliterated by a single swarm. The crop on which an entire community depends for sustenance can be devoured in a number of hours. It is no surprise that this was the agent of punishment by HaShem, who had already commanded Noaḥ and his descendants not to steal. It is fitting that HaShem sent them this Eighth Plague, as it prepared the way for the Eighth Statement, “Do not steal.” Once more, the Israelites were innocent of this crime and were spared; they would continue on to hear HaShem’s Voice at Sinai.

Plague Nine, Statement Nine

DARKNESS – Do not testify as a false witness against your neighbor.

False testimony impairs the ability of a community to carry out civil justice, which is one of the universal Seven Noahide Laws. False testimony about one’s fellow is a conscious desire to cover up the truth. If truth brings light to the world, nothing darkens it like false testimony. And like theft, even though the Torah doesn’t mention it, a nation that didn’t know HaShem couldn’t have been careful in this regard – especially given its track record with the most basic human crimes: idolatry, murder, and sexual deviance.

Perhaps Pharoah’s unwillingness to admit the significance of the miracles he personally experienced –his denial of HaShem’s sovereignty in the face of awesome proof– was tantamount to false testimony. Measure for measure, Egypt was smitten with a plague of thick darkness. Israel, on the contrary, accepted Moshe’ prophecy merely on the basis of two small miracles that could be imitated by Pharaoh’s necromancers! Accordingly, we were spared, Barukh HaShem.

In popular, Israeli culture, secular politicians and media personalities take pride in their disillusioned, down-to-earth outlook; an earthy, ultra-realism. Yet for all their self-styled maturity, too many are blind to a higher reality that requires slightly more thinking and maturity than badmouthing others, vacationing on Shabboth, cheating on their spouses, or jeapordizing public security in the name of political correctness in order to remain in power. Their obstinate refusal to question their shallow paradigms in the face of the stark suffering of the people in this country is comparable to Pharaoh’s. Like the king of Egypt, we have such dramatic evidence of HaShem‘s protecting Hand over us – particularly the undeniable miracles we continue to experience in the never ending war against us by the Arab enemy… miracles that are arguably much more convincing than Moshe’ staff and hand miracles.

Barukh HaShem, Israel’s Torah-observant Jews, regardless of their faults, are so praiseworthy for their steadfast faith, like the Hebrews who left Egypt. May we all –the Torah-observant, the non-observant, and everyone in between– be roused from our slumber and stumbling, return to HaShem in full repentance, and be redeemed as our ancestors in Egypt.

Plague Ten, Statement Ten

DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN – Do not be envious of your neighbor’s house. Do not be envious of your neighbor’s wife… or anything else that is your neighbor’s.

The Torah records the terrifying climax of the Ten Plagues as follows: “HaShem killed every first-born in Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh, sitting on his throne, to the first-born of the prisoner in the dungeon…” The Gemara asks an oft-overlooked question: Pharaoh we can understand. But the poor, miserable prisoners in the dungeon – what had they done wrong?! The answer is simple: Like most Egyptians, they had no direct hand in the persecution. But when they heard about the drowning of the Hebrew infants, they stamped their feet with pleasure and glee.

What could elicit such an evil reaction? Prison inmates generally feel a deep, raging hatred for the establishment that imprisoned them; they often feel a kinship with any other underdog the establishment has oppressed. Here we see just the opposite. The truth is, like many of the gentile locals in the foreign lands of Israel’s wanderings, the Egyptians had become intensely jealous of the Hebrews. Their envy was given a voice in the bitter remark from the Pharaoh of the Oppression: “The Israelites are becoming too numerous and strong for us…” This feeling must have been widespread, down to the grassroots of society, like anti-Semitism throughout history.

HaShem had a special punishment in store for such wicked jealousy that resulted in the massacre of innocent baby boys. It was the Tenth Plague that corresponded to the Tenth Statement He would give to His People: that we never be jealous of our neighbor, nor covet anything he has. Just as they were envious of our beautiful children to the point of murder, HaShem took away their own dear firstborn sons.

In doing so he gave them the opportunity to overcome any envy they had among themselves. Envy is rooted in a feeling of inequality. One feels envy when his neighbor has something that he lacks. Therefore HaShem was careful to bereave every single Egyptian father, from the Pharaoh down to the lowliest prisoner in the dungeon. The Egyptians could learn to empathize with the plight of others, from the Hebrews who had been abused and their children murdered, to their own suffering brethren.

Envy is further rooted in a feeling of injustice. One feels jealous when he believes that he has less than he deserves, while his neighbor has more than is rightfully his. This is tied to a lack of belief or trust in HaShem. Fittingly, just as He brought the Egyptians down to the pit of anguish, he openly spared and protected those who had opted to trust HaShem that night, observing the first Passover. In one awesome, terrifying miracle, he did both.

CONCLUSION

One simple, great lesson to be learned from all of this is as follows:

HaShem expects human beings to open their eyes and hearts to what is happening around them and actually think. I not only wrote this essay as a Jew to fellow Jews. The Giving of the Ten Statements at Sinai was ultimately for the entire world. Our Sages taught:

The entire universe, trembled with the piercing sound of the ram’s horn. Thunder and lightning filled the skies. Then – silence. Not a bird chirped. No creature spoke. The seas did not stir. Even the angels ceased to fly, as the voice was heard: “I am HaShem your God …” (Yalqut Shim`oni)

Without giving into ungrounded imagination and paranoia, may all of us, Jews and non-Jews, be inspired to pay attention to the messages HaShem sends us even through the events in our lives that seem perfectly natural.

May we be moved to learn both Torah and the natural sciences honestly and seriously with humble and pure hearts, that we might understand those messages in the correct light.

And may our inspiration be translated into action: to take HaShem‘s Law seriously (all of it – according to our respective Covenants at Mt. Sinai and Ararat), to make His Will our own, thereby becoming a bright light to those who remain in darkness. And in this, may we merit to be spared from all plague and terror.

Footnotes

As far as halakhah is concerned, the Ten Statements do not stand out in importance above any other part of the Law. At one time they were recited in the Temple with the daily recital of the Shema’, but the Sages removed it from the daily liturgy in response to apostates who fell into the grievous error that there are just 10 miṣwoth (Commandments) – not 613, HaShem forbid. In fact, according to RaMBaM, the custom of standing up while hearing the Ten Statements being publicly read from the Torah scroll in synagogue is one rooted in apostasy.^ go back

We can surmise as such when we consider Moshe’s warm reunion with Aharon his brother at Mt. Sinai many years later (4:27-31), suggesting they had a warm and strong relationship back in Egypt. Note how, in Moshe’s initial encounter with HaShem, God mentions Avraham, Yiṣḥaq, and Ya`aqov with no further introduction, as historical individuals known to Moshe.^ go back

Psuedo-Kabbalah, as opposed to genuine Qabbalah (as our revealed tradition is plainly referred to in the Mishnah and Mishneh Torah) and certain aspects of Torath HaSod.^ go back

Like all of the great, righteous people of the TaNaKh, Moshe is not a static, flat character, but one who grows and develops, which could warrant a special essay in itself.^ go back

This is most likely to have been fiery, hot lava raining down on them from that which had been shot high up into the air from an opened fissure in the Syria-African rift, which the Dead Sea sits upon.^ go back

The following statement is made with no intention to neither insult nor defame anyone, but purely in the defense of Torah truth. Moreover, we in no way infer any bad intentions on anyone’s part. Our protest is not against people, but against actions and statements made public.

A SELF-DEFEATING NAME THAT INSTIGATES IRE

Calling an organization of so-called students of RaMBaM “Dor De`ah” reveals great ignorance. The term “Dor De`ah” was traditionally a negative term for the troublesome generation of Israelites who left Egypt, witnessed HaShem’s awesome miracles, and yet rejected the Land, only to die in the desert. “Dor De`ah” became a moniker used by kabbalistic zealots for those Yemenites who remained loyal to the original, ancient traditions of Yemenite Jewry before the works of the Ar”i came to Yemen.

It is a term that that has inspired bitter strife and division within the Yemenite community, even excommunication. In a generation when all Torah communities have so much to learn from one another, for many, this self-defeating name brings us back to a time that all Yemenite Jews have done their best to forget. For this reason, calling a RaMBaM-based Torah center “Dor De`ah” flies in the face of the path of our RaMBaM-Yemenite greats, namely HaRav HaGaon Mori Yosef Qapahh of blessed memory. It threatens to undo much of what his life work was about: “redifath shalom” – seeking peace, and through that, influencing the greater Torah world.

A MOCKERY OF AUTHENTIC HALAKHAH

While we thank and appreciate zeal for Mishneh Torah and the other important Torah sources that ‘Dor Deah’, has shared a wide internet audience, we see it as a tragedy that they have promote mass conversions, routinely put down normative Orthodoxy, and insult the Noahide path –as if Noahides were no better than idolaters without conversion to Judaism– and show ignorance in halakhah.

Mass Conversions… and by Converts

To promote and perform mass conversions, especially as a convert oneself (see below to “No Lack of Love for Converts Here”), even to officiate as a rabbi to begin with –all this in the name of the RaMBaM– is a cascade of halakhic error and a stumbling block:

1) Mishneh Torah forbids putting converts in any position of authority (M.T. Laws of Kings and Wars 1:5[4]. Whoever imagines that “seraroth” (positions of authority) couldn’t apply to officiating over conversion, must not have read the law, which reads plainly, “…even over an irrigation channel”. Is commanding the transformation of the souls of righteous, God-fearing human beings less of a charge than an irrigation ditch?

3) Mass conversion makes careful investigation of converts nearly impossible. The tragic phenomenon mentioned by RaMBaM and true to this day, is that most converts end up returning to their formers ways (about 95% according to surveys by the Israeli Rabbanuth). Not for nothing did RaMBaM speak of the influx of insincere converts as being “like the plague of leprosy” for the Jewish People. (Laws of Forbidden Sexual Relations 13:15[18])

Due to this tragic phenomenon and the fact that conversion is irreversible, RaMBaM (restating authentic Talmudic Law) devotes a string of laws to warning against accepting converts without proper investigation (Laws of Forbidden Sexual Relations 13:14-15[17-18]). This brings in a Trojan horse of insincere Jews among our ranks. Moreover, it creates a disaster in which innocent non-Jews, who could have enjoyed the Life of the World to Come under the much simpler, lighter Noahide covenant, are now cut off from the eternal life of the soul – now being obligated to keep Shabboth and the other severe obligations of the Torah. (14:3[2])RaMBaM even relates how conversion was forbidden altogether in the days of King and David and Solomon. (13:12[15])

4) Aside from special, individual cases, efforts to convert non-Jews outside of Israel by a beth din hediototh (a non-official court of three observant Jewish men) –even with the converts’ full awareness that the conversion will not be recognized by the mainstream Orthodox world, much less by the Israeli rabbinate– are destined to create strife. If the effort succeeds, it can only give rise to a cult of that will remain cut off from the rest of the Torah world.

Disrespect for Torah Scholars

Despite the opinions we share with “Dor De`ah”, such as the importance of halakhah according to Mishneh Torah, we do not share nor condone their brazenly critical tone of “Dor De`ah” against the greater Torah world. However we may protest the opinion of a Torah scholar, there is no permission to cast him as a “desecrator of Torah” We lament the blasting of such a critique to an audience overwhelmingly made up of non-Jews, converts and ba`ale teshuvah. If one wishes to express his private opinion as to how halakhah should be followed, he may do so. However, to tauntingly rebuke rabbis who hold even an errant opinion and to do so in public, inspires hhillul HaShem, hatred and cynicism of Torah scholars – one of the reasons for the destruction of the Holy Temple (Talmud Bavli tr. Shabboth 119b). In the end, we all lose: halakhic purists and followers of halakhic compromises alike.

Spreading Confusion and Derision at the Path of the Seven Laws

Based on Laws of Idolatry 10:9[6] and Laws of Kings and Wars 8:13[10], Mr. Meza understands that for RaMBaM, a Noahide is none other than a Ger Toshav (resident alien) – a status that will not exist again until the Jubilee (and Sanhedrin) is restored. Therefore, no option but conversion exists for a righteous non-Jew. He mocks rabbis who teach that we are to spread the Noahide Laws, showing an image of Pinnochio and his that keeps growing longer the more lies he tells. Besides stooping to such a disgraceful way to prove his point, Mr. Meza reveals himself to be terribly confused when elsewhere he speaks about “Bene Noahh” being permitted, if not obligated, to keep Shabboth. I thought there were no Noahides at this time in Mr. Meza’s universe?

If it were true that no option exists for non-Jews except conversion, this would mean that even the most sincere, God-centered Noahides are cut off from the Life of the World to Come (eternal life of the soul) until Geruth Toshav (resident alien status) can be restored, Heaven-forbid. While the sources quoted above refer to how Israel is to relate to non-Jews in the lands we conquer, nothing can take away from the simple fact that any non-Jew who accepts upon himself the Seven Laws is a “hhasid umoth ha`olam” –a pious one of the nations– with a place in the World to Come. (Laws of Kings and Wars 8:14[11])

Mishneh Torah was not meant to be studied in a bubble, but only after learning TaNaKh (M.T. Introduction point 42). Heaven forbid we should understand the halakhoth regarding non-Jews outside the context of Psalm 145 (verse 9), which Jews are bidden to recite thrice daily: “HaShem is good to all, and his compassion is over all his handiwork.” Are we to forget how Elisha` the prophet related to Na`aman, the heathen general of Aram, when he accepted the yoke of Heaven upon him as a righteous gentile without converting? Did he need to accept the 7 Laws before three Fellows * among the Sages of Israel – as required for a resident alien? Of course not: He remained in Aram, outside Israel’s jurisdiction.

Whoever would deny HaShem‘s love for Noahides even outside of Israelite sovereignty clearly speaks of a cruel God, not the God of the Torah.

NO LACK OF LOVE FOR CONVERTS HERE

Any claim that we are hereby committing the grave sin of hurting the righteous convert is disingenuous: First, the fact that Mr. Asher Meza is a righteous convert is a publicized fact on the Internet, and therefore not rekhiluth (forbidden gossip). Moreover, none of what is written above is a personal attack on either one of them, but purely a response to widely-promoted work and false Torah teaching. One cannot accept or assume the position of rabbi, undertake to spew misleading Torah teachings that exhibit ignorance of halakhah, produce a growing number of converts and followers, and hide behind one’s rights as a convert.

Besides naturally-born Jews, Beth Midrash Ohel Moshe is home to a number of amazing converts, whose well-being and happiness we are continually preoccupied with. In all humility, it is safe to say that few, if any, Torah organizations have done more with their available resources and manpower to show love for the righteous convert.

Lastly, our own scholars are known for sharing the frustration with the current conversion crisis. Indeed, it is not uncommon to hear of amazingly sincere candidates being unfairly made to suffer through a dauntingly difficult path. Nonetheless, while a solution is yet to be found, mass conversions by novices in halakhah is not the answer. Meanwhile I continue to meet successful converts living happy lives in Israel, having been converted by normative rabbinical courts.

WHO WE ARE

While committed to RaMBaM’s Mishneh Torah, Beth Midrash Ohel Moshe is a normative, recognized Orthodox Torah community and outreach center, and an integral part of the local Yemenite community in Ramat Beit Shemesh. While we are dedicated to our pure halakhic path, we are equally dedicated to our role as members of the wider Torah community, and loyal citizens of Israel.

We wish our like-minded friends in Israel and abroad success in pursuing and growing in authentic Torah, and spreading its truth. Moreover, we pray that whoever accepts upon himself the great responsibility of spreading the poorly-known Torah of the RaMBaM in any official capacity, do so responsibly:

(2) with sensitivity, in a way that helps students to connect with the greater Torah world, and prepare him for life in Israel, our only true homeland,

(3) sagaciously and with love, with words that inspire unity with the greater Torah world, showing attachment to and sensitivity for the greater Torah world and our Land, and with great respect for the Torah giants of our generation.

CONCLUSION

We are a fractured and divided people. It takes no great skill to, through the verses of Mishneh Torah, pontificate to the ignorant about the ills of our society, to “increase mahhloqeth in Israel”, Heaven forbid. It is too easy to make quick judgments and spew barbs against poorly-understood policies of high-ranking Torah leaders (many of whom happen to know Mishneh Torah practically by heart), rather than undertaking to investigate what the rabbi truly said and why. It takes much greater skill to, through true Torah mastery and self mastery, humility and love, to emphasize the teachings that will strengthen the bonds that will unite us as a people.

Note to non-Jews: The following article applies to Jews according to the high standard demanded of us by God, as his appointed nation of priests. (Ex. 19:6) None of the Torah or rabbinical commandments discussed here are obligatory for non-Jews. Nevertheless, the world at large is encouraged to walk in Israel’s footsteps and aspire to a higher level of holiness, for the sake of a better, saner world.

Note to less-observant Jews: Please do not be intimidated by this strong article. While the moral standard presented here – the standard of the Jewish sages – may seem difficult and extreme, I extend a friendly challenge to you to expand your horizons.

I dare you to break out of the mindset in which you’ve been programmed by the media, the secular academia and your peers. Remember: No matter how you grew up and how you practice, this is the voice of your people’s tradition; that of your ancestors. It is a wisdom thousands of years old, by which Jews have been preserved as a people while every other great empire has crumbled and fallen. Moreover, it is wisdom by which Jews have reached the heights of joy, built the most satisfying, long-lasting, loving relationships, achieved the heights of prophecy, and even super-human military feats against overwhelming odds.

The moral standard of the Torah has been the litmus test of every generation of Jews: When we accept it faithfully as a nation, we see blessing and Redemption. When we reject it for the corrupt values of other peoples, we see failure and destruction. On an individual level, whoever embraces it sees his grandchildren living as Jews. Whoever rejects it invariably sees his grandchildren cut off from our awesome faith – more victory for those who seek to wipe us out, culturally if not physically.

Are you up to the Torah’s challenge? Will you dare to open your mind and heart?

In the Mishneh Torah, the ultimate code of Jewish Law, the “Laws of Forbidden Sexual Relations” (hilkhoth Issure Bi’ah) are found in the Book of Holiness (Sefer Qedushah) – along with the Laws of Forbidden Foods and Laws of Slaughter. According to our tradition, our behavior in the very areas in which we can be the most animal-like – the way we procreate, what we eat, and how we kill our food – can distinguish us as holy. Holiness, a gift from the Creator, is the chance to rise above our cruel, base animal inclinations, and build a society based on goodness and higher ideals.

Sadly, our holiness, guarded by our modesty, is under assault everywhere we go: not only by the immodesty outside in the streets, but the very media images we’ve come to depend on; the TV and computer images that we bring into our own private living space. It is critical that we reconnect with the teachings of the Torah, our eternal Guide, to strengthen our resolve to reclaim what we have lost, and push back against the forces that threaten to extinguish the light of holiness from the world.

A SWEEPING, SEVERE PROHIBITION

Twice daily, every Jew – from the wisest and most religious, down to the simplest among us – is commanded to remind himself “you shall not go astray after your heart and after your eyes.” According to sacred tradition, our classical Sages of blessed memory taught, “after your heart” refers to apostasy; after your eyes, refers to sexual licentiousness. (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry 2:6[3]) For thousands of years, the believing Jew has known this to be no artful human addition; no fanatic religious innovation: the Creator of all flesh warned us from Sinai to guard our eyes.

The ancient Sages, bearers of the Oral Tradition from Sinai, regarded lustful gazing at women as a sin in and of itself. This should be appreciated more than ever today. In our modern times, the status of women has risen tremendously both in the West and East. While a woman serves as the Prime Minister of Germany, another woman serves as ambassador of Bahrain to Washington DC. Yet, in this seemingly-maturing world, weary and fed up with the objectification of women, it is vexing to see how little these ancient laws from Sinai are valued. In light of the evils suffered by women the world over at the hands of men who do not control their lust, these laws should be judged as the most advanced ethical system of all time.

However harmless it may seem, the Sages regarded lustful gazing as one of the most dangerous sins there are (by which a person can lose the eternal life of his soul) specifically because it is taken so lightly. (Mishneh Torah, hil. Teshuvah 4:4)

Among [the sins that complicate proper repentance] are five things that the perpetrator is not likely to turn back from because they are light in eyes of the majority of humanity, and when one sins he imagines it is no sin. They are as follows: … (3) One who gazes [lustfully] at the objects of forbidden sexual relations: He reasons to himself that there is nothing wrong in this. For he says, “have I had sex, or [even] drawn near?!” – and he doesn’t realize that the sight of the eyes is a great sin that causes the major sexual sins, as it is written, “you shall not go astray after your hearts and after your eyes.” [Num. 15:39]

This is why it is so shocking to hear that a few isolated yet vocal Jewish “scholars” in their own eyes (I call them hair-splitting “wise guys” to keep things civil) who are teaching in cyberspace that gazing at pornographic images is “technically” permissible according to halakhah (Jewish law). Even worse, these individuals claim to represent a more authentic path in Torah – namely the path of Rav Moshe Ben Maimon, RaMBaM (Maimonides), albeit a minimalist approach.

Bringing the law straight from its source in the Talmud (the written repository of the rulings and teachings of the Great Sanhedrin), RaMBaM teaches that it is forbidden even to watch women doing laundry, and even to gaze at the colorful clothing of a woman with whom one is acquainted. (hil. Issure Bi’ah 21:20[21])

Therefore it is forbidden for a man to gaze (lustfully) at women when they are standing laundering clothes; and even to gaze at the colored clothing of a woman with whom one is acquainted is forbidden, so he will not come to fantasize.

Even gazing (lustfully) at the small finger of a forbidden woman is prohibited! (Ibid. 21:20)

And it is forbidden for a man to signal with his hands, feet, or eyes [in a way that communicates sexual attraction] to any woman who is forbidden to him [anyone but his wife], and likewise to play [immodestly] or act in a silly/lightheaded manner with her. Even to sniff the perfume on her or to gaze at her beauty is forbidden, and one who does so intentionally is liable for stripes for defiance [of rabbinical law]. For one who gazes [lustfully] even at a woman’s small finger, intending to derive sexual pleasure, is just like one who gazes at her most intimate place. Even to listen (lustfully) at the voice of an object of forbidden sexual relations, or to gaze at her hair, is forbidden.

As a Jew, it is not small source of pride, that my ancestors were legislating rules preventing the objectification of women, while other nations were feeding human slaves to wild beasts in the arena.

As it is made clear in the chapter cited above, these and other preventative measures were enacted lest one come to masturbate. Considering it as careless abuse of the sacred act of procreation, the Sages likened it to murder. They clearly took their cue from the sin of Onan, son of Judah (who shamelessly spilled his own God-given seed) and his ensuing death by the hand of Heaven. (Gen. 38:6-10)

As a further safeguard, they ruled one must sleep one one’s side: a position that will prevent him from spilling seed in his sleep (Ibid. 21:19[19-20]). They went as far as to decree that an unmarried man not even touch his groin area – even to touch beneath the belly button – lest he come to fantasize and act out his fantasy in a forbidden way. (Ibid.21:22[23])

In short, the Sages understood that we are part animal and part angelic soul. What side of us will rule over the other: the soul over the animal or the animal over the soul? The Sages – the shepherds of our nation – wanted to ensure that our soul, refined by Torah wisdom, rule over the animal within us; to sow the seeds of hope for a holier, saner world.

As we will see below (see below: “How to Break These Habits, point #4), the Sages were fully in touch with our innate need for intimate relations. Not only does the Torah not preach celibacy; it is regarded as unnatural and generally forbidden! Rather, as those charged with the task of helping us live in accordance with HaShem’s Will, they wanted to help Jewish men to focus this God-given energy in the holy context of marriage.

The Torah was not merely taking poetic license, relating HaShem’s Words: “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make for him a helper equivalent to him.” (Gen. 2:18) Dennis Prager once noted that over 80% of the violent crime in the world is committed by unmarried men. (1) Besides providing true satisfaction – emotional and spiritual besides the physical – marriage (when it is cultivated and worked on) refines our character, and brings forth children, building the Hebrew nation. In this day and age, it is difficult enough to bring many young men to commit to marriage. Were it not for these and other laws, Jewish marriage – the foundation of our future — would be greatly weakened.

ANSWERING THE MINIMALIST ‘WISE GUYS’

Whoever justifies to himself – just because the halakhah does not specifically refer to imagery – that looking at porn is technically permissible, is deluding himself greatly. Knowing what the Sages said about gazing at a woman’s small finger, how can they rationalize gazing at the rest of her unclothed figure?! What does that say about their intellectual honesty? Even if one does not look at porn in order to actively spill seed, such gazing by a normal, healthy man is likely to cause him to spill seed in his sleep…. and that only in the case of a person with greater self control.

About such people whose understanding of Torah brings them to transgress the Torah, it is written in the Prophets sarcastically: “I have also given them laws that are not good; ordinances they cannot live by.” (Mishneh Torah, hil. Shabboth 2:3, cf. Ezekiel 20:25)

Indeed, by imagining that gazing at such imagery is permitted, they disable themselves from upholding the Torah’s strict standard of holiness. This warped, minimalist approach is a hhilul HaShem, as it strengthens the Christian belief that the Torah was only given to prove that it cannot be kept. It also strengthens the secular claim that these are primitive laws that have no place in the modern world. It is only by relating to the entire Torah honestly that we can ultimately be recognized as “a wise and understanding people in the sight of the nations”.(Deut. 4:6)

Observe therefore and do [the Commandments]; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ (Deut. 4:6)

Whoever imagines that the Sages merely spoke about one type of lustful eyeing of women – leaving enticing imagery permissible – or rationalizes that they cannot be blamed for “inadvertent” spilling of seed caused by such porn-watching, may be in for a further surprise:

Their eye-feasting constitutes another Torah prohibition: active training from the wicked. A Jew is obligated to distance oneself from the company of the wicked, even to the point of living society altogether – to dwell alone in the wilderness if need be – anything in order not to learn from their wicked ways. (hil. De`oth 6:1-2)

It is clear from RaMBaM’s words that this refers to learning from the wicked by any means. It cannot exclude bringing the wicked into one’s living room through his computer, one’s private window to the world. In fact, observing how others conduct intimate relations as a form of learning, is specifically mentioned in Talmud: One errant student went to a gross extreme, hiding underneath his rabbi’s bed in order to learn how a Torah scholar should approach his wife!

The very notion that only sinful actions – no more – are forbidden, is a serious error: Actions are not the only matters for which Jews are obligated to repent: Being a negative character trait, un-channeled lust (outside the permitted arena of marriage) is a matter for which one must repent. (hil. Teshuvah 7:3) See below for notes on how to begin.

LESBIANISM AND FEMALE ADDICTS TO IMMORALITY

Make no mistake: These warnings and rules apply to women as well. Whoever rationalizes that they are for only for men, should consider the rabbinical prohibition of lesbianism. While it does not constitute one of the the 613 Torah commandments, lesbianism is linked to “the practice of the Land of Egypt”, which was prohibited by HaShem Himself. (hil. Issure Bi’ah 21:8)

For women who sexually stimulate one another, this is forbidden, and it is the “doings of the land of Egypt” of which we were warned, as it is written, “According to the doings of Egypt… you shall not do.” [Lev. 18:3]. The Sages said, “What would they do? A man would marry a man, and a woman would marry a woman, and a woman would marry two men.”

The Sages were referring to the Torah verse:

According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelled, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, to where I am bringing you, you shall not do; neither shall you walk in their statutes. (Lev. 18:3)

While men and women are different, both are vulnerable to the trappings of today’s global border-less society. While the danger to family life and society posed by porn-watching by women may not seem as great as that by men, the damage cannot be measured. While the percentage is less than men, statistics show that the great majority of women in secular society today (66% of women polled in the U.K.) are addicted to such evils. (2) It cannot be a coincidence that adultery – women cheating on their husbands or their boyfriends – has become a societal norm. Divorce is so common today; it is the destiny of most marriages in the West.

Whoever argues that this is all within our “rights” as “liberated” people, should see firsthand the children of a home breaking apart: the devastation on their little faces, their little hearts broken as they see their parents – their towering role models and caregivers – tearing each other apart, forming relationships with strangers. Such liberals should work with children, and compare the confidence, emotional integrity, flexibility and academic success of a child raised by both natural parents in a solid, loving home, to that of a child raised by a single parent. What future relationships are children raised by porn-watchers expected to make? What kind of future homes are children who were raised in broken homes, expected to build?

Can anyone argue that a parent has the right to do that to a child? Do we not – as men and women – all bear the responsibility to form healthy habits, to strengthen our moral character, to prevent such tragedy? It begins with whom we will allow to rule over own selves: the animal within us, or our angelic soul, refined by Torah wisdom.

REJECTING THE SAGES MEANS REJECTING HASHEM’S WORD

Whoever imagines to himself that a knowing transgressor is “merely” breaking rabbinical prohibitions, should realize the following: Once a person knowingly, intentionally transgresses the rulings of the Sages, at that point he has begun to transgress the Word of HaShem Himself: We are commanded even in the simple verses of the Torah itself to hearken to the Great Court of ordained judges, and warned not to turn right or left from their decrees.

And you shall come to the priests the Levites and to the judge that will be in those days; And you shall inquire; and they will declare to you the sentence of judgment. And you shall observe to do according to all that they will teach you from that place which HaShem shall choose, and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you. According to the law that they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the sentence that they will declare unto you, to the right, nor to the left. (Deut. 17:9-11)

RaMBaM discusses the full meaning of these Torah commandments in Sefer Melakhem, hil. Mamrim ch.1.

In summary, by the above words, HaShem Himself established our nation’s judiciary: the “Great Court” or “Sanhedrin” of 70 elders, 71 including Moses. (71 is the official number of seats on the Great Court for all generations.) Their original ordination by Moses is described in Numbers 11:24-25. Thus began the chain of semikhah – Mosaic ordination of Torah judges – and a flow of Divinely-ordained teaching from generation to generation. And it continued uninterrupted for over 1700 years, only to be continued by the non-ordained courts in Babylonia. The classical Sages preserved this great body of wisdom in the Talmudic literature. The most complete and accurate summary of its laws is the RaMBaM’s great code of Jewish Law: the Mishneh Torah.

According to Oral tradition from Moses, the commandment, “and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you” refers even to future ordinances and decrees the Sanhedrin would make in every generation. According to tradition, Leviticus 18:30 is an explicit commandment to the Sages to enact the very rabbinical fence-laws such as discussed in this article: laws to distance the public from breaking HaShem’s Laws. The verse comes after a list of severe Torah crimes on account of which the nation could be destroyed; perverse sexual crimes that cut a person’s soul from eternal bliss.HaShem then gives the following command to the nation’s judiciary:

So you shall safeguard My Charge, so that you will not [come to] do any of these abominable practices which were done before you, and so that you will become defiled through them: I am HaShem your God. (Lev. 18:30)

Even from a common-sense perspective – according to the simple understanding of the verse – this Commandment seems to be aimed at the nation’s judiciary: It is the nation’s judges and lawmakers who are directly responsible for how the law is defined and enforced.

Beyond judicial safeguards (fence-laws), the Bible itself refers to entirely new laws enacted by their predecessors in the days of Ezra – such as the reading of the Scroll of Esther on Purim and the four rabbinical fasts. Moreover, we find that the novel legal additions to Torah practice were enacted by a court of sages staffed by prophets such as Haggai and Zechariah. If such rabbinical additions contradict Torah law, would the prophets of the Bible have remained silent?

With the above examples in mind, God’s Command not to “add” to the Law (Deut 4:2, 13:1) clearly means something else. It means not adding laws in God’s Name – as if HaShem Himself had commanded thus – or to add content to HaShem’s Torah Commandments, such as adding more words to the priestly blessing as it was commanded in the Torah. (Book of Love, Laws of Prayer 14:12 cf. Num. 6:22-27)

There can be no doubt: just as rejecting Moses was tantamount to rejecting God Himself for the Jews coming out of Egypt, so is rejecting rabbinical law to this day. RaMBaM explicitly refers to rabbinical law as an extension of Torah law in hil. Shabboth 26:23.

HOW TO BREAK THESE HABITS

1) Getting Married

How can one break the cycle of sin? How can one break these powerfully addictive, evil habits? By realizing the Torah is a complete system, which works as a whole. A man should not live alone without a wife. For one who has a healthy sexual urge, it is forbidden for him to remain single, even if he already has children! (hil. Ishuth 15:3)

A man is a man under the Torah commandment to “to be fruitful and multiply” from a young age. (hil. Issure Bi’ah 21:24[25]) It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss the exact age, how the system was meant to work, why it is ideal, and how it worked beautifully in reality for thousands of years until the last century. In our society there many stumbling blocks in the way of this ideal. Nevertheless, except for a few extreme cases; if a man is not married by the age of 20, it is considered a sin. (Ibid. 15:1-2)

Another key is realizing God’s patience and underlying care for every human being. If you are 20 or above and unmarried, the point is not for you to feel guilty, but that you realize the importance of what you are missing out on, from the point of view of your Creator.

2) Living in a Torah Community in the Land of Israel

Environment is a major factor. Living in the Diaspora, or even a secular community in Israel, one is flooded with base, licentious, secular media, and immodestly-dressed people who deem themselves to be very “advanced”. One feels like a tzaddiq (a righteous man) just by praying and keeping Shabboth! Living in an observant Jewish community in the Land of Israel makes it easier to live a holy life. Moreover, to live in the Land is no less than an obligation. (hil. Melakhim u-milhhamoth 5:15[12])

A person must always live in the land of Israel, even in a city with a
majority of gentiles; and not live outside the Land, even in a city with a
majority of Jews: For whoever leaves for outside the Land, is like one who serves idolatry, as it is written, “for they have driven me out from being attached to the heritage of HaShem, [as if] to say, ‘Go worship the gods of others!’” [I Samuel 26:19]

This is not merely theory: As a person who lived as a single man both in Israel and abroad, I personally know this to be a fact.

3) Throwing Out the TV

Practically speaking, wherever one lives; if he watches TV or uses a computer without a filter, he is inviting problems. Lest someone imagine that this is only the attitude of the Haredim (the ultra-Orthodox); he should be aware even the key rabbis of the national religious community (such as Rav Mordekhai Eliyahu of blessed memory) have consistently regarded TV and computers without filters to be forbidden. Besides exposing a person to licentiousness, TV watching has been proven in scientific research to lower intelligence in children, (3) and both TV and recreational computer surfing are a pernicious form of wasting valuable Torah learning time. Notably, Torah learning is the classical remedy from ancient times for a person overtaken by the evil inclination.(Ibid. 21:19[19-20])

When today’s rabbis regularly refer to TV and un-filtered internet like idolatry that is forbidden to even keep in our homes (Deut. 7:26), this allegory may be stronger than even they might realize: Idolatrous imagery – from the ancient world down to present-day India (in example) – has always been characteristically pornographic. When a person rids his home of such images, he fulfills one of the basic reasons for which HaShem forbade keeping idolatrous images in the home.

4) Patience, Positive Thinking, and Prayer

In any case, masturbation and porn-watching can be terribly difficult habits to break. The weaning process can take time. If, in the meantime – despite one’s best efforts – he still stumbles, he must not look at himself as a hopelessly-wicked or disgusting creature. (hil. Teshuvah 3:8) Rather, he should consider the incredible reward he will merit once he, after having tasted sin, turns away from it in full repentance, causing all his previous sins to be erased. (Ibid. 7:4)

He should also remind himself how ultimately rewarding his restraint will prove to be in this world: By channeling his sexual activity exclusively into a present marriage, or saving it for his future marriage (if he is unmarried), he will intensify and lengthen his marital bliss into old age. If Jewish couples were only to observe HaShem’s Laws – saving their sexual activity exclusively for one another with no other outlet, and having eyes for none but one another – there is no doubt the divorce rate would drop significantly, and our birthrate (critical to maintaining our hold of the Land of Israel) would increase.

We see here that one need not be a mystic to perceive a connection noted by kabbalistic-minded scholars between the brazen spilling of seed, and the dangers to our existence in the Land of Israel. Our nation is ultimately as strong as its family life. For example, our army is made up of its individual soldiers, whose strength is determined, in part, by their faith and their clean self-image. This is, in turn, a reflection of their morality. It is not for nothing that in Biblical times, righteous warriors such as David’s men were careful to remain clean in the field from the ritual impurity caused by seminal emission. (I Samuel 21:5-6)

Finally, one should pray mightily and sincerely for HaShem’s help in his battle to reclaim his God-given right to holiness. With HaShem’s help, no adversary – neither from within nor from without – can stand in our way.

This is the week of TeSawweh (that’s Tetzaveh for the un-initiated in ancient Hebrew pronunciation) – the Torah portion about sacred clothing, the clothing that would distinguish the Kohen-priests, particularly the High Priest, in their sacred duties.It is also the week I was interviewed by Tamar Yonah (a true honor) about the dubious origins and halakhic problems (according to Torah law) with the relatively late, European custom of dressing up in costume for Purim.How fitting it is for me, then, to teach about one of the more poorly-known aspects of Torah: the importance of a distinct, Jewish dress.

Consider one of the fundamental 613 Commandments of the Torah, in Wayyiqra (Lev.) 18:3:

After the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelled, you shall not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, to where I am bringing you, you shall not do; neither shall you walk in their statutes.

The following is a summary of the Oral Torah (the actual halakhah) on this Divine Commandment from the Mishneh Torah, the Code of Jewish Law (Laws of Idolatry chapter 11:1)

One is not to walk in the statutes of the gentiles, and not to resemble them—not in their dress, and not in their hairstyle, nor in anything else of this sort, as it is written: “neither shall you walk in their statutes.”And it is written, “be careful of yourself, lest you be ensnared after them.”[Deut. 12:30]All this is warning about one thing:That one not resemble them; but rather, that the Israelite be distinguished from them and known in his dress and in his other ways, just as he is distinguished from them in his wisdom and his character.And thus it is written, “and I shall make you distinct from the nations.”

In the miSwath lo-tha`aseh (Torah Prohibition) #30 in Sepher ha-miSwoth, we learn that the prohibition against copying the statutes of the gentiles not only pertains to their present customs, but those of their ancestors as well.Now it is possible that RaMBaM changed his opinion since his youth, when he wrote sefer ha-miSwoth, deliberately leaving this detail out of Mishneh Torah.This way the Hamburg-hatted, frock-coated Hassidim and Lithuanian-style Jews could claim that today they have a distinct Jewish look — certainly now that the Christian clergy have moved on to new modes of dress.

To me, it’s a stretch.I could be mistaken, but I see no reason to fight what seems clear: Jews are not to dress in uniquely gentile dress — neither that of the present, nor that of the past.(Note:Whatever I say about Haredi dress is said with the deepest respect for the Haredim and their [our] fierce dedication to Torah.I am one who personally identifies as a Haredi Jew, living in a Haredi neighborhood with children learning in a fine Haredi institution.)

One friend of mine shared with me an additional insight:The black garbed Polish look and black hats/streimels (and I add to that the modern, tight-fitting Western styles of non-Haredim) make us look foreign to this land.It is hostile clothing to the climate, and we look like aliens, foreign oppressors who don’t belong here, imported from Europe. The Arabs pick up on it, as does as the rest of the world.Noting our non-native styles, they say, “See? These Jews came and stole our land. They don’t belong here – go back to Europe!”

What I believe the nations understand subconsciously, somewhere deep in their souls, is something that pains them greatly:This is not the look (and in many cases not the behavior) of the “kingdom of priests” Israel is supposed to be for us.Barukh HaShem (thank God), I see numerous signs of positive change underway.

How, then, are Jews to ideally dress?Believe it or not, the traditions of our unique dress have not all disappeared.We can still learn them from the Jews of the Orient, very few of whom maintain them to this day.From my own great-great-great grandfather HaRav Yehudah Ha-Levi from Dubrovnik, Serbia, to the senior Hakhamim of Baghdad (below [1]) to the Torah teachers of Yemen: formal-wear for Jewish men varied little.

Among our warriors, the style differed.Below is a photograph of YaHia Habbani of blessed memory, close family to Ya`aqov Mosha (Awad bin Brihim), father of the esteemed Aluf Abir, Mori Yehoshua Sofer shlit”a.The late uncle is dressed in classical Habbani style, which goes back millennia.

The Aluf Abir himself, an expert on ancient clothing of the Near East, once taught me in the name of his father (who is presently well over 100 years old, may HaShem preserve him in good health) that a picture of Arabs 100 years ago would be nearly identical to the way Yishmaelites looked one thousand years ago, and so on back to the times of the Tanakh (Bible).It was no different among his own clan, whose distinguished lineage hails back to the times of Dawidh ha-mmelekh (King David).The style varied per activity, including casual styles such as a very long over-shirt over loose, short white pants — much like the breeches of modern Hassidim.Sometimes the large `tallith was worn as a main garment; among the Habbani warriors it could be wrapped to gird up the entire torso like a rope-belt, criss-crossing the body. [2]

Whatever the style, from the Beth Midrash to the battlefield, across the Middle East, we maintained our distinct dress.If we are to receive the lesson from our ancient Oral legends (midrash), this is a matter of no small importance:It was partly in the merit of our steadfast loyalty to our traditional Hebrew dress, that HaShem redeemed us from Egypt. The sages even ordained a special blessing for us to make each morning specifically when we wrap our heads turban-style: “Blessed are You, HASHEM our God, King of the Universe, who crowns Israel with splendor.” The Babylonian Talmud (tractate Berakhoth 60b) is clear, and so is Mishneh Torah (Book of Love, Laws of Prayer 7:4) the blessing is made when on “puts his sheet [or cloth] on his head”. (Note that both Talmud and Mishneh Torah do mention hats in other places. This blessing appears to be specifically for authentic Israelite headgear.)

Now before you run for your nearest tailor and wager how quickly you are likely to lose your job, your friends, or worse; what is the practical halakhah (Jewish law)?Today, modern dress is standardized all over the world into a basic, universal “human dress”.In our day, most modes of dress that are uniquely gentile, are also outlandish enough to be a Purim costume.Besides that, although we maintained a distinct style, the truth is that Jews though the ages wore what was comfortable to them in their surroundings.My understanding is, according to my training, that for men – on a basic level – so long as one’s clothes are sufficiently modest, the kippah on our head and fringes at our sides give us a clearly unique and distinct look, and satisfy the basic halakhah (practical Jewish law).

However, to my humble understanding (with no disrespect intended towards those who disagree), there may be two common exceptions to this for men:the 3-piece suit and tight pants — particularly tight jeans.Unlike casual suits, the 3-piece suit is a traditional garment also known as the “Sunday’s best.” Reaching its present form in the last century, it appears to have been — in its original cultural ambient — a special garment set aside by the common gentile for weekly, Sunday idol worship.As for tight pants or jeans, unless they are way oversized so that they sag like the ‘gangbanger’ look (which itself may constitute a distinctly gentile style), this is specifically mentioned in Talmud as prohibited to Jewish men.To my reading, RaMBaM had no need to mention this – would it not be included in the general prohibition of imitating gentile customs?!

As for myself, I am personally unsatisfied with the universal “human dress” code; my soul yearns for more.It doesn’t sit well with me that for over 3,000 years our fathers, our great rabbis, prophets and warriors had distinct Jewish dress styles and haircuts that we can comfortably toss aside in favor of the styles of yuppie-ville and the American mall.In a modern Israel where Buddhist monks, nuns, and Ethiopic Christian priests roam freely in their traditional garbs, must I, a Jew, feel confined to styles out of GQ magazine, that are technically permitted?

Now I rarely delve into mysticism in my articles, but I cannot hold back this time.Tefillin [3], by Aryeh Kaplan, is one of the most inspiring books I ever read as a Jew growing into Torah observance, years ago.In it, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan of blessed memory writes:

Physical space exists only in the physical world.In the spiritual domain, there is no concept of space as we know it.

But still we speak of things being close or far apart in the spiritual world. What does this mean? We cannot be speaking of physical distance, for there is no physical space in the spiritual realm. But in a spiritual sense, closeness involves resemblance. Two things that resemble each other are spiritually close. On the other hand, two things that differ are far apart in a spiritual sense.

It follows that if we desire to be spiritually close and similar to the greatest men of all time, Avraham our forefather, Mosha Rabbenu, Dawidh ha-mmelekh, Rabi `Aqivah and so on, we should resemble them as much as possible.That is, of course, first and foremost in our deeds: how we relate to others, how we pray, how we learn and practice Torah, how we fight.But it is so difficult in a mundane world where we are so categorized, labeled and limited by those around us.Yet, as I explained above, we create our image – the way we are perceived – and invite those labels, to a degree, by the way we dress and cut our hair.

The foremost reason why, in the Haredi world, Jews wear black hats and suits, is the foremost reason I try to dress more Hebrew:They know how much clothes make the man of God.When passing by a thumping disco alone, a young teen wearing a black hat and suit will feel and react differently than a young man in jeans with a half-dollar sized kippah on his head.Dressing more Israelite can have the same effect. The difference is that the black galuth (diaspora) garb subliminally gives him the feeling of a European arrival from 60 years ago, an exiled man in his own land. Carefully ironed, restricting clothes meant for air-conditioned rooms and paved sidewalks give us a different sense of what is natural and what is foreign.

Moreover, as I discussed above, any dress besides our ancestral one fits a certain negative stereotype in the eyes of the nations, to whom we are to be “a kingdom of priests.”Whether it is as small a step as wearing a large `talith while relaxing and working at home, wrapping one’s head for prayer for Morning Prayers when one is alone, or making a bigger change such as growing one’s beard and side-locks, I highly recommend it.Should you choose to put on tephillin (phylacteries) even for a short while outside of prayer to learn some Torah, you are actually fulfilling the Torah commandment to strive to be in tephillin throughout the day.If you are living outside of Israel, just wearing a large kippah to distinguish yourself as a Jew can be an awesome step.

May the day come soon when kohen-priests will daily don their priestly garments in a rebuilt Beth ha-miqdash (Holy Temple) and Yisra’el (the rest of the nation) will don ours for all the wonderful activities there are for us to do in our ancestral heritage.In the meantime, let’s increase our awareness of the Godly type of people our traditional clothing can help us aspire to become.

Many ignorant people in the world hold on to a false assumption that the Oral Law of the Torah was invented by the Talmudic sages.Without going into all the reasons why it is so absurd and all the proofs for the antiquity of the Oral tradition, I will suffice for now to bring just one very minor proof in this short article.

Imagine if a law was discovered in the writings of the Talmudic sages, hailing back to a bygone era – dealing with the property rights of a particular tribe that had been exiled by Assyria in 556 BCE (3205 from Creation)?That is nearly 750 years before the Mishnah –the oldest of rabbinical writings— was put down in writing in 189 CE (3949 from Creation).

That fateful year saw the tribe of Naftali, along with its brother Northern Israelite tribes, uprooted by the wicked Assyrian forces of Sanhheriv (Sennacherib).While many tribesmen of Asher, Menashe, and Zevulun returned in body and spirit to rejoin the Jewish People (see Divre HaYamim (Chronicles) II 30:11), we have no written evidence or oral tradition about the Naftalites ever returning home – not before the ultimate ingathering of the exiles at the prophesied ‘End of Days’.In fact, the pre-eminent legal force in the Mishnah is Rabbi Aqivah – who was of the opinion that the ten Northern tribes would never return – not ever. (Mishnah, tractate Sanhedrin 10:3).

Yet, incredibly, the rabbis maintained the ancient law that upheldthe exclusive fishing rights of the tribe of Naftali at the Sea of Galilee (known in Hebrew as ‘Yam Kinnereth’, ‘Yam `Tiveriah’, and ‘Yam Ginosar’)– even along the southern shore of the small sea.

See of Galilee: Eternal heritage of the tribe of Naftali (photo from Wikipedia article "Sea of Galilee")

From the original written sources of the Oral Law down to its final compilation in the Mishneh Torah, the law remains in full force:

The [other] tribes may not harvest fish from the sea of Tiberius because it belongs to Naftali.Furthermore, they are given the strip [of land] on the southern shore of the sea, as it is written [Deut. 33:23] “possess thou the sea and the south” – the words of Rabbi Yose HaGelili.

Likewise he legislated that any man may harvest fish in the Sea of Tiberius.But that is on condition that one fish with a pole only; however, one may neither cast a net, nor station a boat there – except for members of the tribe in whose inheritance the Sea came.

— Mishneh Torah, Hilkhoth Neziqe Mamon (Laws of Monetary Damages) 5:8[6]: (Compiled between 1170-1180 CE by Rav Moshe ben Maimon – RaMBaM.Here is the law as it was ultimately codified).

It is written, “He legislated…”Who does this refer to – who made this legislation?What is the source of this ancient legal remnant from well before the Assyrian conquest of the Northern tribes?When we study the fuller context of the above chapter in Mishneh Torah, we discover that it is but one of ten legal enactments from Joshua – student of Moses — and his Supreme Court of 70 Elders.(Ibid. 5:3[1])

We find this law in Mishneh Torah as practical law on the issue to this day.Although there is no one to enforce it, it remains ‘halakhah’ (Jewish law) even in our times, for all those who desire to fish the waters of the small inland sea…It is no less binding than later rabbinical prohibitions which were decreed by the great Sanhedrin throughout the ages, such as the laws of `eruv (from the times of King Solomon and his Court — see Mishneh Torah, Laws of `Eruvin 1:2) and the well-known rabbinical additions to Israel’s kashruth-dietary laws – many of which are also of great antiquity.

Who would zealously preserve the property laws of a long-exiled Israelite tribe – a tribe believed by the greatest of the rabbis of the Mishnah would never return?!Is this the mark of “Johnny-come-latelies”, of inventors, of revolutionaries?!Heaven-forbid.This and many other proofs reveal that the rabbis of the Talmud received from their forebears, preserved, and passed forward legal traditions as old as the Torah itself – an Oral tradition that accompanied the Written Word from the time it was given to the nation by HaShem at Sinai.

Mori Michael Shelomo Bar-Ron, Beth Midrash Ohel Moshe

]]>http://www.torathmoshe.com/2009/10/proof-of-the-oral-law-naftalis-eternal-fishing-rights/feed/4PROOF OF THE ORAL TORAH FROM TEL SHILOhttp://www.torathmoshe.com/2009/10/proof-of-the-oral-torah-from-tel-shilo/
http://www.torathmoshe.com/2009/10/proof-of-the-oral-torah-from-tel-shilo/#commentsWed, 28 Oct 2009 21:42:00 +0000http://www.torathmoshe.com/?p=273According to Seder `Olam Rabbah – the great timeline of Jewish history written by Yose ben Halafta in 160 of the Common Era, the tabernacle in Shilo stood for 369 years, from the year 2502 from Creation, until 2871 – when it was destroyed.The year of destruction corresponds to the 13th century BCE – 1261 to be exact.(p. 127)

The Mishnah, written much, much later by Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, was completed in roughly the year 189 C.E. – 3949 from Creation. Between 1261 BCE to 189 CE, is 1,450 years – one and a half millennia.

Even when the Mishkan (Tabernacle) stood at Shilo, it was not as active a center of national worship as it should have been.According to Oral tradition on the story at the opening of sefer Shemuel (Book of Samuel), the pilgrimage of Israelites three times a year had all but ceased before Elqanah – the righteous father of the prophet Samuel – inspired his brethren to resume the ascent to Shilo for the festivals.Considering how inactive it was at times even when the Mishkan stood, and how it was then re-established elsewhere, there can be little doubt:When Shilo was destroyed, it was abandoned.

Looking closely at what is understood to be one of the holes for the original stakes by which the roof of Mishkan Shilo was tethered down. *

2,899 years after the destruction of the Mishkan, the holes still remain in tact in broken lines along the rectangular stone perimeter, which once surrounded the sanctuary. *

During the next 1,500 years until the Mishnah was written down, the nation would suffer the collapse of three Israelite kingdoms, and two exiles of nearly all its population.By that time, Shilo was a long-distant memory.Moreover, so was the way qodashim qalim –offerings of light sanctity— were eaten at Shilo, since the rules changed after the Tabernacle re-established at Nov.Yet, incredibly, the Sages maintained a fresh memory of minute details of the way the Hebrew pilgrims once ate of the holy offerings at Shilo – even though they had had already been defunct for so long.All that time, the details how the offerings were eaten at Shilo were taught orally from teacher to student so that over 1,450 years later, the Sages remembered them as if Shilo were still standing just the day before.

In Seder Qodashim, tractate Zevahhim, 14,6, we learnhow, in Shilo – as opposed to later on – the “qodashim qalim” (offerings of light sanctity) were eaten “bakhol ha-ro’eh” – within view of the Tabernacle.After the sacred offerings were consumed, the Israelite pilgrim was not permitted to take the use the clay containers for the offerings beyond that point; they needed to be smashed.Later in Nov, private altars were permitted, and such offerings were not even limited to the Mishkan, but could be eaten “ba-khol `are-Yisrael” – in all the cities of Israel.Finally, when the Divine Service reached its ultimate form with the building of the First Temple, those offerings could be eaten “lifnim min ha-hhomah” – anywhere within the walls of the city of Jerusalem – not necessarily within view of the Temple.

Indeed, the site of Tel Shilo today remains a natural amphitheater: The remaining base of the Tabernacle – overgrown with brush — still stands aligned on a perfect East-West axis on its small, central plateau, surrounded by high hills.The holy structure with walls of stone and a roof of animal skins was clearly visible from every direction.And from the site of the sanctuary and outwards up to the perimeter of the surrounding peaks, are countless ancient shards of smashed pottery.There can be no doubt: they hail back to the time when the Israelite pilgrims would smash their pottery after eating their offerings within view of the holy Mishkan.

Examining countless potsherds from the time of the Judges at Tel Shilo *

Seeing how trustworthy the Sages were in preserving such minute details about rituals which had been totally irrelevant and impractical for many centuries by their time, consider how much more can they be trusted to have preserved the teachings that were relevant to them, and would remain relevant to Jews throughout the ages – namely the details of the Oral Law of Moses: What really constitutes idolatry?Who is a Jew, who is not, and how can one convert?What are the actual laws of Noah?What is the true interpretation of God’s Commandments in the Torah regarding everything from the kashruth dietary laws to proper observance of Shabboth – the Sabbath day?And so on and so forth.

In ancient Israel, warriorship — particularly with staves (reed sticks) — was a part of everyday Jewish life. See the Mishnah, Rosh haShanah 1,9:

“He who saw the new moon [and must give testimony in Jerusalem] but cannot go [on his own] — he is to be brought on an ass, even on a stretcher. And in case an ambush is set up against them, they are to take staves [“maqloth” = staves/sticks/cudgels] in hand. And if the journey is long, they are to take food…

We learn from this that the average Jew in Israel (for whom this law is intended) was skilled enough in combat with simples staves, to rout attackers bearing swords, spears, etc. According to Habbani-Jewish tradition, the reed-stave (“qan suf”) is the primary weapon the Israelites trained in from the days of our sojourn in Egypt, since we were forbidden to train with other weapons. That is why it is called “yaara” in Yemenite, from the Hebrew word “ye’or” — the Nile.

See a brief demonstration of this combat by the Aluf Abir Yehoshua Sofer:

In the spirit of parashath NoaH 5770, Jeremy Gimpel and Ari Abramowitz interviewed me on their radio show, “A Light Unto the Nations” regarding the launch of my new book, “Guide For the Noahide” and surprised me with a question regarding my work to restore the Abir/Qesheth Hebrew Warrior Arts.

Although I am not a professional speaker with no radio experience to speak of, I agreed to appear on the show to promote this important work. The interview can be found on the segment “The Unwavering Faith of Noahides” on Arutz 7 Radio’s show, “A Light Unto the Nations”, at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1508

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

It should be noted that although they called me a “halakhic decisor according to the RaMBaM”, I am not comfortable with that title. I regard myself as a student and teacher, not a halakhic decisor.

According to the tradition I received from my mori, the RaMBaM himself remains our halakhic decisor par exellence. The awesome work he composed leaves us with the purest halakhic guidance possible for all generations until the Sanhedrin will be restored. It literally puts the entire breadth of practical Torah law even into the hands of laymen, women, and children — besides Torah scholars. (Laws of Foundations of Torah 4:21)

This is not a simplistic, anachronistic approach: it is the very stated purpose for which the Mishneh Torah was written. (See Mishneh Torah, Introduction 42, and RaMBaM’s Epistle to his student, Rav Yoseph Ben Yehudah, QapaH edition, points 24-25). The best way to learn, practice and teach halakhah in our times is straight from the Mishneh Torah with no “halakhic decisor” in between.

In practice, however, some measure of Torah guidance is necessary. If this is true for Hebrew-speaking Jewish scholars, how much more so for Jewish laymen, and even more so for non-Hebrew speaking Noahides! However, following even a rabbinical figure of the highest repute does not exempt the follower from his rabbi’s mistakes. Every human being is personally responsible for practicing HaShem’s Law correctly,and is punishable for his mistakes–even those he learned from his rabbi. For the serious student, even the greatest rabbi is a poor alternative to taking responsibility for his own learning.It is to aid the non-Jew in this goal, that “Guide For the Noahide” was written.

That being said, I reiterate what I wrote in the book (Author’s Preface page xi):

“Lastly, as comprehensive as we tried to make this guide, it was not meant to take the place of a competent rabbi or Torah scholar in the field of Noahide Law. In a case of doubt, a competent Torah teacher should be consulted.”

When I can be of service to anyone in that regard, I undertake it as a sacred privilege and responsibility.